Ligeti

DCS Drogon (one of the GoT dragons). DCS That Big Dog From Never Ending Story (similar theme to above)

Great answers thanks. The main issue I have with sims is the small window issue (not compared to real life flying as I've not done any, just real lift in general), hopefully VR headsets will continue to improve in resolution so they get closer to human vision. I tried an early developer-version Oculus Rift a while ago and while the sensation of space was impressive, I could clearly see pixels. I wonder what resolution will be required to approach human vision in a VR headset? I guess we're a fair way from that but hopefully not too far. Agree about more in-depth senarios and support missions. Working out how to move troops or cargo with limited fuel, changing weather and risk of ground fire would be good. CSAR would be good too imo. I'll add some rep to people in this thread for their quality responses when I get on my PC, can't seem to do it through my phone browser.

For comfort, and for jettisoning previously consumed cargo ;-)

You are correct! I didn't notice that they'd been fixed. My life is complete. Although I couldn't get the windscreen wipers to work so there may be some life goals left.

If companies invest in pilots it's fair that they sign on for a few years. I suppose if the situation becomes too bad for pilots economically the industry will have to start investing in pilot training or face a shortage, the labour market should adjust itself, in theory ;-) I was flying the Mi8 in DCS tonight, nice and stable and she can take some punishment from ground fire. Sometimes though I do notice it has tendancy to pull up into a steep climb, might just be me though. Some guided missiles and door gunners would be nice too. Oh and I really want those cockpit fans to become functional asap :-)

Weedwacker: I'm not a kid, I'm nearly 40. I would never have made it in the armed forces as I don't like being bossed around (hence I'm self employed now.) I was just talking about taking one lesson just to experience what being in a real helicopter is like. No intention of becoming a proper pilot, one reason I respect those who can do it. Razor: That's more involved than I thought re learning new aircraft. Do individual pilots have to fund this training themselves? If so do the wages make it economically worthwhile? I know airline pilots are feeling a squeeze on their wages (in the US anyway) is this case with heli pilots too?

Interesting, thanks again Razor. I've not been using DCS for long and one of the good things about it is having RL pilots in the community, especially ones as experienced as you. I guess you'd like to fly a real Mi-8/17? Probably not that many of them in the US though. How long does it take to transition to a new helicopter? Do you need instruction at first? And is there a lot of studying to do in terms of learning the systems and mechanics? I also wondered how much pilots know about the mechanical side of the helicopters they fly, is it required to be able to do simple maintenance or is that handled by mechanics on the ground?

Great response thanks Razor. Which things do you think were overdone? Also which helicopters have you flown in real life and do you think the various DCS heli modules are well differentiated in terms of the flight models? No probs if you don't have time to reply, you've done enough already ;-)

They have a lot more training after those 11hrs before they're qualified army pilots, but they're expected to take off, fly some circuits and land, all solo with only 11hrs training. At least that was the situation in the 90s, don't know how it is today. If you search 'Flying Soldiers' on YouTube you'll find the series (it's in six parts, they start flying the Gazelle towards the end of the second part).

It was a Gazelle in the 90s. I don't have a driver's licence and feel like I'd need more than 11hrs practise before feeling qualified to drive safely on the road, a helicopter would another level of difficulty and danger.

Also re the number of hours, in the UK Army Air Core, according to a 90s BBC documentary, trainee pilots were expected to go solo in 11hrs IIRC. I guess they only select candidates with good hand eye coordination etc for training, but still, that's not much time.

Good info thanks Outlawal. If I get the money and time I may take some lessons, just for fun. Interesting what you say about the R22, have you seen how those pilots on cattle farms in Australia throw the R22 around? I'm guessing that takes some serious practise and a lot of guts (or a slightly suicidal mindset.)

I see there are quite a few real life helicopter pilots that use DCS and post here, I have a few questions for you... 1: If you fly, or flew helicopters for a job why spend your free time flying a simulator? What do you get out of the experience? 2: Is flying helis in DCS easier or more difficult than flying helis in real life? (Complicated question I'm guessing.) 3: If you've flown professional/expensive hardware simulators how different are they to DCS? 4: If you were giving advice to someone who was an excellent DCS heli pilot but had never flown the real thing and wanted to learn, what would be the main things that would need learning or adjusting? 5: Related to previous question, could a good DCS heli pilot get in a real heli with no experience and take off and fly with no real issues? 6: What things would you like to see in sims of the future to make the experience more realistic? I have more questions but that should do for now. Any responses appreciated, or just ignore me :-)

Meatboy's acting is fine for a sim imo, however his accent sounds like an English aristocrat from the 1920s (or perhaps Harry Enfield or Paul Whitehouse doing an impression of one.) No one talks like that now. For more contemporary English AAC/RAF/RN accent references there's lots of interview examples on YouTube. Not a big issue imo, the module is great, just saying :-)

Good article thanks. Interesting that the civvie versions didn't have SAS and that the author didn't have a problem flying without it.

Whatever you do, never, ever, touch the third lever. Don't even think about touching the third lever, never speak of it again. My work here is done.

I was wondering whether there should be more smoke when the missile fires, e.g.

Will give this a try thanks. Has anyone had any luck with the multiple monitors options in DCS? I have two screens but can never get anything to work on my second screen.

I like to simulate having a routine maintanance accident where the laser goes in my eyes by punching myself in the face.

A helicopter documentary which features some AAC Gazelles at the beginning doing aerobatics and later on a Royal Navy version doing some autorotation practise.. https://youtu.be/4ROxUFp3zb8

I've said it before and I'm not complaining but it would be great to be able to save/render rgb, depth and motion vectors as separate files. The DOF in-game is pretty good for a real time effect but compared to something like Lenscare it's not realistic.

Sounds like we need a pimp-my-Gazelle key in the cheats section, tinted glass, hydraulic skids that go up and down, stereo with 2x18" subs, garish paintjob etc.

Good stuff, lots of options for future development, a beaded seat cover for instance.

Gazelle (and a Tiger) firing a mistral...